1999-04-05 04:00:00 PDT SAN FRANCISCO -- It was the place where glittery lipstick and feather boas met cuddly bunnies and flowered bonnets, where high camp crossed paths with charity and free-speech rights: It was Castro Street on Easter Sunday.

Undeterred by opposition from the Catholic Church, more than 5,000 revelers spent a mellow, sun-soaked afternoon celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence - the flamboyant, in-your-face, street-theater group whose members dress as nuns while promoting gay pride.

Some of those in attendance came for the fun of parading around in outlandish costumes, others for the fun of watching them. And most of those interviewed said they were there to support the Sisters' right to spoof the church's intolerance toward gays and lesbians.

"This kind of parody and theatricality is nothing new," said Brother Karekin, an Episcopal friar of the Brotherhood of St. Gregory. "I think the church could learn more about tolerance and being able to laugh at themselves."

Funny costumes

Funny costumes

Five-year-old Maxx Hockenberry stopped by with his uncle Adam Gavzer after spending the morning searching a friend's back yard for chocolate Easter eggs and jelly beans.

"There are a lot of funny costumes," said Maxx, enjoying the spectacle, "like boys dressed up as girls."

The Sisters, who celebrate their anniversary every year at this time, usually in nearby Collingwood Park, faced vehement opposition from the Catholic Church over their request for a permit to close one block of Castro Street. Church leaders called the Easter fete a mockery of their religion and an affront on the holiest of Christian holidays.

The San Francisco Interfaith Council, an organization that includes Christians, Muslims and Jews, urged city supervisors to respect "the sanctity of Easter Sunday and help this group find another day on which to have their celebration."

But the supervisors refused, and on Sunday no protesters were in evidence.

"I expected to see Fred Phelps," said Jessica Martinez, 27, of Oakland, refering to the conservative Baptist minister from Kansas who has made a practice of coming to San Francisco to protest at gay and lesbian events. "But he didn't show up. He wouldn't dare."

Making peace

Making peace

Martinez, who sported a colorful Easter hat bedecked with flowers and a chiffon veil, said she had to shed her own Baptist upbringing to make peace with her homosexuality.

"It's about coming to terms with a different kind of God, that loves me and accepts me as I am," she said. "It's not about a God who will punish me and send me to hell because I'm gay."

Martinez said she attended the street fair because of all the publicity it had received and found it was a fun way to celebrate Easter.

On stage Sister Phyllis Stein, who removed her stark black habit to reveal a slinky evening gown, presented Supervisor Tom Ammiano with a pair of glittery magenta pumps and proclaimed him "patron saint of politics and pumps."

Ammiano told the crowd that 20 years ago, Supervisors Dan White and Harvey Milk had debated whether to close Polk Street for gay Halloween festivities.

"I guess some things haven't changed," said Ammiano, and concluded with a quote from Milk: "It's better to close a street than to close a mind."

On the ballot

On the ballot

Supervisor Mark Leno said he thought church opposition to the event was really a way to galvanize support for the Defense of Marriage initiative to ban same-sex marriages, slated for the March 2000 state ballot.

"It's not about the Sisters, it's not about a street closure, it's not about Easter," he said. "We must rise to the occasion to defeat (the initiative)."

Leno added that he wanted to focus on the fund raising and AIDS education the Sisters have been doing for two decades.

"The Sisters have been bestowing love on this community for 20 years," he said.

"Our message is that there is no dress code for charity work," said Sister Ann R. Key, decked out in a wimple and habit, with impeccable white face paint, long false eyelashes and sparkly blue eye shadow.

pink hair, for the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence's anniversary part&lt;